Nicola Horlick's SG Asset Management (SGAM) has dragged socially responsible issues closer to mainstream investment thinking by forming a research partnership with the Safety and Environmental Risk Management (Serm) rating agency. 'Environmental considerations are not just a matter of ethics, they also have increasing financial implications,' says John Richards, SGAM's managing director.

'We believe that a portfolio version of Serm's rating system could become a valuable tool for institutional investors,' he adds.